


In Awe of the Dawn

by FH14



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1980s, Alternate Universe - Bar/Pub, Alternate Universe - Human, F/F, Nyotalia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-30
Updated: 2015-05-30
Packaged: 2018-04-01 23:05:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4037992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FH14/pseuds/FH14
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aino Väinämöinen didn't expect to still be awake at dawn, but that was before she met Ingrid Oxenstierna at a karaoke bar in Stockholm.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Awe of the Dawn

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was originally written for the [Surströmmiakki Fest](http://surstrommiakki.dreamwidth.org/13793.html) on dreamwidth under the title **"In Awe of Dawn"**. The prompt was "Karaoke [Dawn or 1980s]".
> 
> Aino is Female Finland, Ingrid is Female Sweden, and Ruta is Female Latvia. This fic takes place in the 1980s but it might not be overly apparent. Also, I've never been to Stockholm, so sorry for any inaccuracies on that end.
> 
> And thank you [Icelilly](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Icelilly/) for beta reading this. You're awesome!

Aino was very familiar with beautiful things.

The snowfall that morning in her hometown had been beautiful, as were the smiles of her students as they rushed outside to play, free of the responsibility of their schoolwork.

This was a different kind of beautiful. The kind of beautiful where Eduard had to snap his fingers in front of her face to get her to stop staring at it.

“Are you okay?” Eduard said, watching with amusement as Aino tried desperately to regain her composure.

Not that she seemed out of place, since the whole premise of karaoke was to try and regain any semblance of composure after singing a poor rendition of an ABBA song.

“It’s nothing. Just thinking about work,” Aino said sheepishly, glancing back up at the stage.

A woman was currently waiting for one of the bar’s employees to fix the karaoke machine. She wasn’t doing anything particularly interesting, just fidgeting with the microphone. Nerves probably, though it was likely if the mic was on it would be generating a very unpleasant sound.

No, what made this woman so striking were her eyes.

She wore glasses, but the lenses didn't obscure how piercing her eyes were. If anything, they only accentuated that quality, as if she were holding a magnifying glass up to her eyes at all times. It was this that Aino found equal parts intriguing and terrifying.

"There you go again!" Eduard said, looking in the direction she was. "Do you wanna do Karaoke or something?"

"Yeah. Maybe. I'll be right back," She stood up and left in a rush, hoping that Eduard couldn't see the blush forming across her face.

 _If he did he'd just think I was nervous about singing_ , She reasoned, though it did nothing to alleviate the fluttering sensation in her stomach. It wasn't until she got to the stage that she realized her preoccupation with the woman onstage and that feeling were connected.

The woman glanced at her and nodded a greeting. Not in an unfriendly way. More like a way you'd greet someone you didn't know while you were on stage, preoccupied by the broken karaoke machine that kept you from singing.

That one glance was all it took.

 _Crap_ , Aino thought, feeling the blush on her cheeks grow.

She hastily wrote her name on the sign up sheet near the stage, and did her best not to trip as she sprinted back to her table.

"You sure you're okay?" Eduard asked, staring at her with concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Aino said as earnestly as she could.

"Liar," Eduard said, pointing his finger accusingly, "You sound like Ruta after she gets off a plane: shaky and confused."

"No. I'm just tired," Aino insisted, forcing herself to calm down, "I'd be more worried about Ruta since she will get off a plane tomorrow morning,"

"True..." Eduard said, though he didn't look convinced.

A murmur spread through the crowd and Aino turned back towards the stage. It looks like the karaoke machine was finally working again, and the woman onstage was getting ready to sing.

"I wonder if she's any good?" Eduard asked.

Aino jumped. "I-I'm sure she'll be fine."

After a couple of minutes the song started, and the entire room sat captivated.

It wasn't anything strange or unexpected. After all, she had chosen a Roxette song and they were everywhere right now. It just came down to the fact that she was good. Or at least better than most who’d been up on stage that night.

Aino sat there, mesmerized by this woman whose name she didn’t even know. It wasn’t just her voice. Her hair and her clothes and her eyes- god, her eyes.

When the song was ending, her eyes made contact with Aino’s, and she almost fell over in her chair. The woman seemed to smirk, as if finding amusement in her bewilderment.

No, bewilderment wasn’t the right word.

When the song was over and the audience was clapping, the woman took her bow and walked off the stage. She flashed Aino a knowing glance, and Aino finally realized what that word was.

* * *

By the time it was Aino’s turn to go on stage, she was in no condition to get up and sing in front of dozens of people. What with the hour spent reevaluating her sexuality and imagining an elaborate scenario where this woman serenaded her.

“Ingrid.”

Aino blinked and turned to look at Eduard. “Huh?”

“The woman you’ve been staring at all night? Her name is Ingrid. They announced it before she sang.”

“Oh, um…” Aino stared at him blankly, not sure what to say.

“I’d love to stay and watch you humiliate yourself onstage, but I need to head back to the hotel. Ruta’s flight gets in early,” Eduard finished the rest of his beer and stood up, throwing a handful of coins down onto the table. “This is right? Okay.”

“You’re drunk.”

“And what you do on your own time is your business,” Eduard winked, before turning around and walking out of the bar.

Aino stared at his receding form and looked back at the stage, where a much more inebriated man was butchering a Beatles song.

 _I mean, we’ve always been free spirits, but I never expected that kind of reception_ , Aino mused. Though she attributed most of what he said to the alcohol, it was reassuring that she wouldn’t cause any problems on that end.

Not that anything would happen anyway. No matter how Aino looked at it the odds weren’t in her favor. And that was without factoring in the need to actually go up and talk to her.

“Hey.”

Aino jumped, and stared up at Ingrid, who was now leaning over her table.

“You’re Aino right? S’ur turn.”

“Oh, yeah,” She blinked, the realization of what she had volunteered to do just sinking in. “Oh, um…”

“Nervous?”

“A little,” Aino admitted, looking down at the ground.

“Hm… Well, what if it was a duet?”

Aino looked up at Ingrid, her piercing gaze immobilizing her once more. It’s not like she was being aloof or overly friendly. In fact, Ingrid’s expression seemed perpetually neutral. But something about the way she held herself made Aino’s heart leap out of her chest and start suffocating her.

“I- I’d like that,” Aino choked out.

Without another word, Ingrid turned and started walking toward the stage. Aino followed as if in a hypnotic trance, and before she realized what was happening, she was on stage with a microphone in her hand.

“ABBA, huh?” she heard Ingrid mutter, and the instrumental track began to play.

* * *

_Eduard and Ruta will never believe me._

It was the first thought that popped into Aino’s head as she walked offstage. For once, she wasn’t completely awful at Karaoke. Granted, singing with Ingrid had already heightened the performance considerably, but Aino felt like she held her own up there.

“Not bad,” Ingrid said, sitting down at the table, fixing her with another intense stare.

“Thanks,” Aino said, waving at the bartender for another round of drinks. She hoped Ingrid and Eduard had similar taste in booze.

By the time the drinks arrived, Aino finally gathered up enough courage to start talking again after an uncomfortable stretch of silence.

“So, um, are you from around here?”

“Yup. Grew up here,” Ingrid said, staring intently at her once again.

Aino shifted nervously. “Sorry, is something wrong?”

Ingrid blinked and immediately shifted herself in another direction. “Sorry. You’re just really pretty.”

Aino wasn’t sure how to respond to that. At all. _She thinks_ I’m _really pretty?_

Before Aino could gather a response, the current singer on stage drunkenly fell into the audience. Most of the people in the room, including Ingrid, rushed the stage, though Aino remained glued to her seat.

 _Way to carpe diem Aino,_ she thought to herself. Ingrid seemed to vanish in the mass of people, and as the minutes ticked by, Aino became more and more certain that she wasn’t coming back.

* * *

Despite everything, Aino slept very well that night. The hotel accommodations certainly helped, but Aino still expected a restless night full of angst and self-reflection.

Instead she dreamed that Santa smothered Eduard to death with a pillow while she ate gelato and watched.

“That’s messed up,” Eduard groaned, lying his head down on the table next to the half a grapefruit he had ordered.

“Well, in Santa’s defense, that was your Christmas wish.”

“Not that,” He said, “I mean that girl ditching you last night.”

“Oh, yeah, well,” Aino shrugged, before slumping over her own food. “It is what it is.”

“Still doesn’t make it okay,” He argued, before letting out another groan. “Oh god, my head… what was I… RUTA!”

Eduard jumped up out of his seat and stared around wildly. Aino anxiously reached over and tugged on his sleeve.

“Calm down and sit. People are staring,” She hissed. “After last night that’s kind of the last thing I need.”

“Huh? Oh.” Eduard sat down and stared at her silently for a moment. “But Ruta-!”

“Is taking a cab. You’re too hungover to go pick anyone up,” Aino said. “You should probably go back to your room. I’ll wait for Ruta and show her where our room is.”

Eduard looked like he wanted to argue, before doubling over in his seat. “Sounds good. Excuse me.”

Without another word, he grabbed the grapefruit off of his plate and began walking off to the elevators, prompting another set of stares.

“Great,” Aino muttered, picking at the rest of her food and doing her best to ignore everyone else. The stares only reminded her of being up on stage with Ingrid.

Eduard was right. It sucked that Ingrid ditched her.

 _She even said I was pretty_ , Aino thought wistfully, all her doubts from the night before slowly melting away. Maybe I’ll see her again. She seemed to like Karaoke. _Or I’m just a desperate mess_ , she added ruefully.

* * *

By the time Ruta arrived at the hotel, Aino had managed to give herself a headache rivaling Eduard’s hangover. But that was nothing compared to the disheveled mess of a woman that stumbled into the hotel lobby.

“Ah! Aino,” Ruta gasped, stumbling over, her purse swinging dangerously close to a glass vase on the table next to her. She dragged a larger duffel bag behind her that nearly caught on the leg of the very same table.

“Oh goodness!” Aino exclaimed, catching the woman as she began to topple over.

Ruta looked up at her with wide eyes. “The plane was so small. I’m so tired. The champagne was adequate-“

“But you prefer the harder stuff, I know dear,” Aino sighed, patting her head. “We should get you up to the room. If only Eduard wasn’t completely indisposed… Oh!”

Aino turned to the concierge desk. A blonde woman stood there facing away from the lobby interior, apparently on the phone.

“Excuse me, miss?” Aino said, gently putting Ruta on the ground and walking over to the desk, glancing back at Ruta out of concern. “Are any bellboys available? I need a bit of help here.”

“’m sorry. I believe he’s on his break.”

As soon as the familiar voice hit her ear, Aino tore her eyes away from Ruta and toward the concierge desk. Standing there was Ingrid, dressed in a rather expensive looking suit.

Aino stood there frozen, and saw her shock mirrored back at her on Ingrid’s face.

After a moment, however, she was able to collect herself. “That’s quite alright. I’ll make do. Thanks!”

Aino turned and walked back towards Ruta as fast as she could. Behind her, she could hear Ingrid breathe in.

“I can help if you would like,” She said.

Aino grabbed a now limp Ruta under the armpits and lifted her up as best she could. “It’s okay. I’m doing fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” Aino looked up and locked eyes with Ingrid, who had come out from behind the desk and was standing a couple of feet away from her. Aino felt her mind go blank, her gaze focused on the woman’s piercing blue eyes.

She reached for the bags and immediately dropped Ruta on the ground.

“Please. It is my job to make sure all our guests have their every need met,” Ingrid said, pressing up her glasses before leaning down and gathering up Ruta’s bags. Despite being rather large and obtuse, Ingrid looked like she had picked up nothing more than a feather. “I’d help you carry your friend, but I’m not allowed to legally.”

“O-of course,” Aino stammered, doing her best to pull Ruta up onto her back. Turning away from Ingrid, she moved as fast as she could toward the elevators.

* * *

By the time they got to the room, Ruta was a bit more alert, though she was clearly still deliriously tired.

“The alcohol here better be top notch,” she fretted, collapsing onto the bed and pawing at the covers.

“We do our best to have a varied selection,” Ingrid said, setting down her bags at the door. “The bar downstairs and our restaurant both have high quality vodka, for example. Our room service is not as comprehensive I’m afraid. Conditions in our liquor license.”

“A license to have liquor! How unconscionable!” She blubbered, before rolling onto her stomach. “Night, night.”

“Sleep tight,” Aino gasped, still catching her breath. Ruta was a small woman but as a dead weight she was still pretty heavy.

Aino turned to thank Ingrid, though stopped when she saw the other woman carefully regard the room.

“We’re treating it well, don’t worry! And Ruta is a very clean person too,” She said in what she hoped was a reassuring tone.

Ingrid abruptly turned to look at her, apparently caught off guard. “Oh, sorry! The room looks completely fine. I just got distracted…”

“Oh?”

“Um, when your friend showed up I wasn’t sure, but, um,” She fidgeted uncomfortably, looking down. “The room has separate beds.”

Aino stared at her, unsure how to respond. Ingrid had seemed so confident and put together the night before, so it was strange seeing her flustered. And despite everything, Aino couldn’t help but find it a bit cute.

Well, until Ingrid’s words sunk in anyway.

“Oh! No!” Aino said, a bit louder than necessary. “We do not have that kind of relationship. Never have. No intention to change that.”

“Oh,” Ingrid said.

The two stared at each other, and after what seemed like an eternity, Ingrid straightened up and fixed her glasses. “I apologize again for the inconvenience. I hope that this hasn’t caused too much trouble for you.”

“Of course not,” Aino said, “Thanks for helping me.”

“No problem. It is my job after all,” She said, turning to leave. “And, um, this may not be appropriate, but I was curious. By any chance are you going back to the Karaoke bar tonight?”

Before Aino realized what she was doing, she found herself reflexively responding, “Yes.”

* * *

“Well, Ruta’s still sleeping off the plane ride, so it’s not that big of a deal.”

“I still feel bad for ditching you guys,” Aino said, anxiously tugging at her skirt.

“I said its fine, don’t worry- stop messing with your skirt,” Eduard snapped.

Aino let go of the fabric and dusted herself off. She didn’t normally dress like this, but for tonight she felt like trying something different.

_Thank god Ruta’s my size._

“I’ll make it up to you guys tomorrow. Lunch is on me!” Aino said, turning to leave before Eduard could object. “Also, I get you were hungover, but you should clean up this room a bit.”

“Goodnight Aino,” Eduard said, clearly not in the mood for a lecture.

“Night!”

Practically skipping out of Eduard’s room, Aino checked her watch again.

“Ten minutes,” she said to herself. Ingrid had shown up at nine o’clock the night before, so Aino was working under the assumption that that was when she would show up tonight. She would have asked, but Aino was too nervous to go down to the concierge desk to do so.

Hell, she had spent most of the day fretting about tonight, and did very little of the sightseeing she had gone on this trip for.

After making her way out of the hotel, she checked her watch again. _Five minutes. I’m making good time._

“Aino?!”

Aino turned and saw Ingrid sprint out of the hotel – or at least, move as fast as she could barefoot. She held her heels in her hand, but otherwise looked very put together. Unlike the night before, where she wore a modest dress that didn’t really stand out, she was decked out in something much fancier. It took Aino a moment to realize, but her dress was the exact same shade of blue as her eyes. Her hair hung down in fresh curls, with a small hair clip shaped like a snowman on her left side.

Aino was so transfixed, she hadn’t even noticed the flushed expression on Ingrid’s face.

“Sorry, I got off work a little earlier than I thought I would, so I decided to change. But then I started rushing,” She said, dusting herself off.

“It’s fine. I was just leaving anyway. We still have a few minutes…” Aino said, still a bit dazed.

The two women stared at each other awkwardly for a moment, before Ingrid said, “Oh we better get going!”

“Yes, let’s,” Aino nodded, hoping that the evening didn’t stay this awkward.

* * *

Aino and Ingrid fell into a rhythm pretty quick.

At first it was a bit slow. Both women were very nervous, and Aino had to fight the compulsion to bolt and hail a cab to the airport.

The topic that broke the ice was, oddly enough, work. Aino started talking about her students and the words suddenly started pouring out. After a while, Ingrid began to chime in with stories about frequent hotel guests that she had gotten to know over the years. It was a kind of light conversation that Aino wasn’t particularly used to. Eduard talking about technological advancements and Ruta talking about the insane tasks her boss assigned her – those were topics she had grown accustomed to. Discussing the inherent goodness of humanity was never something that came up organically.

Except for now, apparently.

“And when they finished dinner, we brought over a dozen roses arranged in the shape of a heart,” Ingrid said. “Apparently he made one for when he proposed to her thirty years before. It was so romantic, don’t you think?”

“All those thorns,” Aino whistled, “I’d love to meet someone who’d be willing to do that for me.”

“Well, he had arthritis, so I had to make it this time,” Ingrid said. “So if you wanted to make one, I can help you out.”

“Oh, before I did that, I’d have to give someone my heart,” Aino said, looking down at the ground. She felt embarrassed talking about something so personal, but she was more concerned with the butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

Ingrid leaned forward. “Do you wanna get out of here? At this time of night only the raging drunks hang around.”

“Really? It seems so early for that,” Aino said, before glancing down at her watch. “Oh my- It’s one in the morning!”

“We’ve been here a while,” Ingrid said, apparently amused at Aino’s absentmindedness. “I am disappointed we didn’t give an encore performance though, but maybe some other time?”

“Yeah, maybe,” Aino said, standing up. Before she could ask what Ingrid had in mind to do next, she was cut off by a sharp growl from her stomach.

“Maybe we should get something to eat?” Ingrid smiled. “I know some places that are open late. It won’t be five stars, but I think it tastes pretty good.”

“That sounds great,” Aino mumbled, hiding her face in embarrassment.

“It’s okay. I’m pretty hungry too,” Ingrid said.

Aino nodded, and downed the rest of her drink.

* * *

In retrospect, Aino really shouldn’t have had anything to drink on an empty stomach.

“Don’t wander off now,” Ingrid said, redirecting her once again. “It’s the one right here.”

“S’ry,” Aino sighed, “Food was a good idea.”

“They make excellent cinnamon buns here. Oh! They have saffransbullar at this time of year? How unusual.”

Aino listened to Ingrid rattle on about food on the menu in the time it took to buy a cinnamon bun and get settled in a small booth in the corner. The restaurant was mostly deserted, but there was some young people chatting excitedly and drinking. It was definitely more pleasant than hanging out in a bar.

Polishing off the sweet, Aino looked up at Ingrid, who had stopped talking and was staring awkwardly at her hands, apparently out of things to say.

 _I guess now is as good a time as any_ , Aino thought. _Well, at least if this goes bad I won’t have time to dwell on it. I’ll probably get stabbed in a mugging after she ditches me._

“So, um…” Aino cleared her throat, casting her gaze around nervously. They were tucked away so no one could see them, and it was doubtful anyone would be able to hear them over their own chatter. “I was wondering… what is your preference?”

Ingrid looked up at her with a blank face. “Well, women. Why else would I be on a date with one?”

“This is a date?” Aino asked.

“Well, I mean, we went out and had drinks and talked, and then we stayed out late to get sweets…” Ingrid’s voice trailed off. “Unless, you don’t want it to be-“

“No, that’s not what I meant,” Aino hastily interrupted. “It’s just that I’ve never done this with a woman.”

“Oh, I see,” Ingrid said, looking at her curiously. “So, um, are you…?”

“I don’t know if I’m… that way…” Aino winced, a bit ashamed she couldn’t bring herself to be more explicit. “All I know is when I saw you last night, I couldn’t stop staring. I wanted to get closer to you.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah,” Aino felt her face flush.

“Sorry, I’m just a little surprised,” Ingrid said, crossing her arms. “I mean, you went out of your way to let me know that you weren’t in a relationship with your friend.”

“…and you were the one who asked,” Aino continued, looking down. “And you said I was pretty… wow, I’m not very observant am I?”

“I don’t know, calling other girls pretty is a thing girls do,” Ingrid said. “Though I definitely meant it in the way that a girl who likes other girls when she thinks the other girl is pretty.”

Aino stared at her.

“It means I’m really gay and I think you’re pretty.”

“Oh,” Aino said.

They sat in silence for a moment, before Ingrid spoke up again. “So, um, do you wanna try some saffransbullar and then take a walk with me?”

* * *

“That was really good,” Aino sighed, a big grin on her face.

“I’m still amazed they had it. Most places don’t have saffransbullar after Christmastime. Though, I guess it hasn’t been that long,” Ingrid said.

“Well, I’m glad they made an exception,” Aino said, “And it was baked fresh too.”

“Probably because we were there so late,” Ingrid said, looking at her watch. “It’s already dawn. The sun will be up soon.”

“I can’t remember the last time I saw the sunrise. I always go to bed early because of my job,” Aino said, absentmindedly grabbing Ingrid’s arm. “This might be a bit much, but is there anywhere where you can see it really well?”

Ingrid looked down at the ground for a moment, “I don’t- Oh! I think I know one place. Follow me.”

Ingrid turned around abruptly, and Aino tightened her grip on Ingrid’s arm. The other woman didn’t seem to mind though.

After a few minutes, Aino started to recognize her surroundings.

“Are we headed back to the hotel?” She asked.

“Yeah,” Ingrid nodded. “I have roof access so we can watch it up there. And that way you can still make it back to your room at a halfway decent hour.”

“Oh, that doesn’t matter so much,” Aino said, smiling ruefully. “Eduard and Ruta were down all day today, so they’ll just have to live with it if I decide to sleep in.”

“I see,” Ingrid said, pulling her arm out of Aino’s grasp and grabbing the other woman’s hand, lacing their fingers together. “We should hurry.”

Ingrid started walking faster, and before Aino knew it, they were in the hotel elevator.

“Good, we made it with enough time to spare,” Aino gasped, looking at her watch. “I mean, assuming it’ll happen when we think it will.”

“You never know, the newspapers are wrong all the time,” Ingrid said. “The television isn’t much better.”

“Yeah,” Aino nodded, straightening herself up. In spite of the adrenaline coursing through her body, she was relieved that they had come back to the hotel. She was starting to get really tired.

So much for sleeping all day and inconveniencing her friends.

“Ah, here we are. Now just up this way,” Ingrid said, pulling Aino along. Her grip was much weaker than it was before, and Aino could tell she was starting to get tired also.

“We could probably take our heels off?” Aino said. “Unless it’s too dirty…”

Ingrid immediately stopped and, using her free hand, pulled off her heels. She let out a content sigh, and turned to watch Aino pulls her off, their hands remaining linked all the while.

It seemed overly complicated, but Aino couldn’t help smiling.

Free from their shoes, they swiftly made their way up a short stairwell to the roof.

“Looks like we made it just in time,” Ingrid said. Sure enough, the faintest hints of sunlight were starting to appear on the horizon.

The edges of the roof did nothing to obstruct the view of the sunset as it began blossoming in full. Sitting on an old, weathered bench presumably left by some workmen, Ingrid and Aino unlaced their hands and leaned against one another.

“This is so beautiful,” Aino sighed. “I mean, I knew this place was beautiful, which is why I came, but I never expected anything like this.”

“They have sunrise in Finland too, don’t they?” Ingrid said, rubbing Aino’s head playfully.

“They do, but not like this one,” Aino said, struggling to find the words. “This one is… oh…” She turned and looked up at Ingrid. The other woman gazed down at her, the disappearing stars in the sky appearing in her eyes.

Those eyes.

Aino tiled her head up and their lips met. It wasn’t a grand, sweeping kiss you’d see in the movies, nor was it a drunken make-out kiss. If anything it was a pure, simple kiss that you could see anywhere between any two people.

But Aino felt electricity shoot through her body, sparks practically flying between her lips and Ingrid’s. It was the most exhilarating feeling she’d ever experienced.

And in that moment, she realized the word she was looking for. It was how she had felt when she first laid eyes on Ingrid the night before.

 _Awe_.


End file.
